Let Your Heart Hold Fast: Loose Teeth and Cannonballs
by curlybean
Summary: Part of the Let Your Heart Hold Fast universe. Six year old Neal doesn't want anyone to know that his teeth are falling out. Peter and Elizabeth are trying to figure out why Neal is suddenly a vegetarian.
1. Chapter 1

Let Your Heart Hold Fast: Loose Teeth and Cannonballs

Author's note: This story takes place in the Let Your Heart Hold Fast universe where Neal is six years old and has been adopted by Peter and Elizabeth Burke. It might not make much sense if you haven't read that one first. Or, at least keep in mind that Neal is only six, lol. Enjoy!

* * *

Elizabeth spent several minutes trying to get Peter's attention, but the man was steadfastly shoveling his breakfast into his mouth. Neal, on the other hand, had barely touched his waffles, instead choosing to just eat the whipped cream that was piled on top. Finally, after a swift kick under the table from Elizabeth, Peter looked up at his wife, wondering what was going on.

Without saying a word, Elizabeth nodded her head towards Neal, who appeared to be sucking all the whipped cream and syrup off of a strawberry before putting it back on his plate. Peter had no idea why the boy was doing what he was doing, so he looked back at his wife and shrugged his shoulders.

Elizabeth's face showed her frustration with her husband, but she still kept her mouth shut. Eventually, though, she couldn't take it anymore.

"Neal? Are you feeling okay? You've barely touched your waffles….."

Neal looked up at Elizabeth with a frown planted on his face. "I don't like waffles," he said with a pout.

"Of course you like waffles," Elizabeth answered. "Just last week you asked for them three mornings in a row."

"Well, I don't like them anymore," Neal answered. "They're yucky!"

Elizabeth passed a concerned look to her husband. "Would you like something else to eat then? I hardly think that whipped cream is an adequate breakfast for a six year old."

"I'm not hungry, Mommy," Neal said sadly.

Elizabeth reached over and placed her palm against Neal's forehead. "Well, you don't feel warm. Are you feeling okay? Does your tummy hurt?"

"I'm okay, Mommy. I'm just not hungry." The look on Neal's face wasn't very convincing and neither was the loud growl that came from his stomach.

"Neal, sweetie… you need to eat something. How about some cereal? Or eggs?"

Neal's face lit up, but then quickly darkened again. After a few seconds, it lit up again. "Can I have a breakfast shake, Mommy? Like the one you made last week?"

"Of course, sweetie. Just give me a few minutes to make it."

Elizabeth stood up and went into the kitchen, pulling out everything she needed to make Neal a healthy fruit shake. Peter continued to look at Neal, who was now staring longingly at the waffles on his plate. What in the world was going through that little head of his, Peter wondered.

"Are you sure you're feeling okay, little man?" Peter asked.

"Yes, Daddy," Neal answered quickly. He looked up at Peter for a second and Peter thought he was going to ask him something. The moment passed, though, and Neal returned to staring at his waffles.

Minutes later, Elizabeth came back to the table with a strawberry-banana protein shake and placed it in front of Neal.

"Can I have some whipped cream on it, Mommy?" he asked.

"I think you've had enough of that, don't you?" Elizabeth asked, not wanting Neal to fill up on the pointless calories.

"Please?" Neal pleaded, his blue eyes wide and shining brightly. When Elizabeth hesitated, he opened his eyes even wider. "Pretty please?"

With a laugh, Elizabeth gave in. "Okay, okay…..but just a little," she said as she passed him the bottle.

It was obvious that her idea of "just a little" was vastly different from Neal's.

* * *

As Peter and Neal were getting ready to leave the house, Neal turned back to Elizabeth. "Mommy? What did you give me for lunch?"

"A ham sandwich, apple, and peanut butter, sweetie. And a cookie, of course."

"Can I have some pudding instead?" Neal asked.

"Instead of a cookie?" Elizabeth couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Instead of everything," Neal answered.

"Neal, you cannot just eat pudding for lunch. You know that."

"But that's all I want," Neal said. "I don't want a stupid sandwich. Or an apple. Or peanut butter."

Elizabeth noticed that he didn't say that he didn't want the cookie. _Typical Neal._

By this time, Peter was getting frustrated. "Neal, let's go. You can just eat the lunch that Mommy already packed for you."

"I don't want that lunch. I want pudding."

Peter had reached his limit, but before he could say anything, Elizabeth spoke.

"This isn't up for debate, sweetie. You're not having pudding for lunch and that's final. Now, grab your backpack and your lunchbox and go to school before you're late."

"That's not fair and you're being mean," Neal cried as he stomped his foot.

Unfortunately, he stomped his foot down on Peter's foot, causing the man to say a bad word. Neal knew he had gone too far and he quickly threw himself at Peter, wrapping his arms around his leg.

"I'm sorry, Daddy!" he cried. "I don't know what's gotten into me this morning."

Elizabeth laughed at Neal's words, knowing that she had a habit of saying that phrase quite frequently. Peter wasn't laughing, though. Instead, he was eyeing Neal sternly.

"If we weren't pressed for time, little man, you'd be spending some time in the corner. Now, unless you want to do that as soon as you get home, I suggest you grab your stuff and get into the car."

Neal sadly grabbed his things, gave Elizabeth and Satchmo a kiss goodbye, and walked out the door.

* * *

Neal sat sadly at the lunch table, watching all of his friends happily eating their lunches. He wished that there were hot lunches being served, thinking that they almost always had pudding, applesauce, or ice cream to eat. Unfortunately, the summer playschool program didn't provide lunches like the regular school session, which meant that he was stuck with the lunch his mommy had packed for him.

He tried, unsuccessfully, to trade his lunch for some of the other kids' lunches, but no one wanted to trade. Eventually, Miss Powell, the summer program teacher, realized that Neal wasn't eating.

"Neal? Why aren't you eating?" she asked him as she knelt down in front of him. "Aren't you hungry?"

"Not really, Miss Powell. I had a really, really big breakfast."

Neal hated lying to her, but he really didn't want her to know the truth. He hadn't told anyone else, but he really, really liked Miss Powell. She was always so nice to him and she always smiled really big whenever she saw him. He thought that he might like to marry her someday.

Because of how much he liked her, he didn't want her to know the real reason why he wasn't eating. How could he explain to her that he was losing his teeth?! How could he ever marry her if he was toothless?!

Neal had been upset and scared ever since he had realized that his two front teeth were wiggly and loose. He didn't want to tell Elizabeth or Peter because he thought they might not let him eat cookies or candy ever again. He remembered that when Elizabeth took him to the dentist, the lady that checked his teeth told him how important it was to brush your teeth twice a day and not eat too much candy. She told him that he had to take care of his teeth so they wouldn't fall out.

And he tried. He brushed his teeth every morning and every night. He even brushed them twice at bedtime, if Elizabeth didn't think he did a good enough job the first time. But, no matter how good he brushed his teeth, they were still going to fall out.

Once lunch was over, Neal closed up his lunchbox, leaving the food inside. The rest of the afternoon was miserable for Neal, mostly because his stomach kept growling and he felt like he might throw up. He was happy when it was finally time to go home and he hoped that Elizabeth would let him have pudding.

Once they got home, Neal ran into the kitchen, putting his backpack and lunchbox on the counter.

"Neal, why don't you take your backpack up to your room while I fix you a snack, okay?"

"Okay, Mommy. Can I have pudding?"

"Since when do you like pudding so much, sweetie?" Elizabeth asked.

"I've always liked pudding, Mommy. Ever since I can remember."

Elizabeth laughed as Neal grabbed his bag and ran up the stairs. Pulling out the bowl of pudding she had made the day before, she scooped some out into a bowl for Neal. She also cut up a plate of fruit, wanting to give the boy at least somewhat of a healthy snack. While she was waiting for Neal to return, she opened up his lunchbox to clean it out. She was surprised to see that it looked like Neal hadn't eaten a single thing out of it. _What was going on with him?_

Minutes later, Neal came running back down the stairs, eager to dive into the pudding and soothe his hungry tummy. Elizabeth made him wash his hands before he climbed up on the barstool and gulped down his pudding. She couldn't help but notice that he steered clear of most of the fruit on the plate, eating only the banana slices.

Once he was done, she washed off his face and hands, before letting him up to go play with Satchmo. She wanted to ask him about not eating his lunch, but wanted to talk to Peter first. Something was going on and she had absolutely no idea what it could be.

* * *

Peter walked through the door just as Elizabeth was putting the last dish on the table. Neal was helping his mother set the table and Peter couldn't help but smile as he noticed that the napkins had all been folded into fans. They had gone to a restaurant a few weeks before where the napkins were folded into fans and Neal had asked the waiter if he could teach him how to do it. He had been a fast learner and by the time they were done eating, he had been able to fold them just as well as the restaurant staff. They, of course, all thought that Neal was adorable and the kid had gladly soaked up all of the attention.

"What's for dinner, El?" Peter asked as he washed his hands.

"Your favorite, hon," she answered. "Steak and potatoes."

A huge grin spread across Peter's face. "Have I told you lately how much I love you?" he asked as he pulled her to him and gave her a kiss.

A few minutes later they were all seated at the table. Elizabeth placed a steak on Neal's plate and quickly cut it up into small pieces. "Make sure you chew the steak up really well, sweetie."

"I don't want any steak, Mommy," Neal said.

Elizabeth could feel a familiar frustration creep into her. "Neal, you love steak," she answered.

"Not anymore. I'm a vege….um, a vegeterranium."

Peter let his fork drop to his plate as he stared at his son. "It's vegetarian, Neal. And since when are you one?"

"Since just now," Neal replied matter-of-factly. "I decided I don't want to be a cannonball anymore."

Peter and Elizabeth both laughed at that, making Neal angry.

"Why are you laughing?" he asked grumpily. "You shouldn't be cannonballs, either. You should be vege….vegeterrariums like me."

"Vegetarian," Peter corrected again. He had no idea how to explain the whole cannibal idea, so he decided to just let it go. "Neal, if you're a vegetarian that means you can't have hamburgers anymore. Or pepperoni pizza. Or fried chicken."

Neal looked decidedly unhappy at Peter's words. "Well," he said. "I'm not going to be a vegeteren forever, Daddy. Just for tonight."

Elizabeth and Peter both decided that it wasn't worth pushing, so they watched as Neal ate his mashed potatoes. Elizabeth insisted that he eat some vegetables, too. She watched as Neal picked through the vegetable medley, picking out the small pieces of corn and peas. She noticed that he steered completely clear of the broccoli and cauliflower, as well as the zucchini. Deciding to pick her battles wisely, she told herself to be satisfied that he was at least eating some of the vegetables.

After dinner was over, she sent Neal up to take a bath and Peter up to supervise. Peter made sure the water temperature was just how Neal liked it and he filled the tub with bubbles. As Neal played in the tub, Peter sat on the toilet, reading a sports magazine. He half listened as Neal played happily with his toys, so it took him several minutes before he realized that Neal had grown quiet.

"What's up, bud?" Peter asked. "Why aren't you playing?"

Neal looked adorable as he sat in the tub with bubbles hanging from his chin and ears. "Daddy, can I ask you something?"

"Sure you can, kiddo. What's on your mind?"

"Do you think Mommy still loves you now that your hair is falling out?"

Peter looked indignantly at his son. "My hair isn't falling out! What makes you think that?"

"I heard you tell Jones that if you didn't catch that bad guy soon you were going to lose all your hair. Will Mommy stop loving you now?"

"First of all, Neal, my hair isn't falling out. That's just a figure of speech, buddy. Second, even if I did lose my hair, Mommy would still love me."

"What if you got really, really fat and got stuck in your chair? Or what if your face gets all wrinkly like Dr. Dan's?"

"Neal, Mommy won't stop loving me if any of those things happen. I wouldn't stop loving her, either, if she got all fat and wrinkly or lost her hair."

"Mommy won't ever get wrinkly, Daddy. She'll always be beautiful."

"Yes, she will."

Neal started playing again, but minutes later, he had stopped again. "What if you lost all your teeth? Would she still love you then?"

"Yes, Neal. She would still love me if I was toothless."

"Would she love me if I was toothless?" Peter didn't miss the fact that Neal asked that question in a much quieter, much more uncertain voice.

"What is this all about, Neal?" Peter asked.

"I'm just wondering, that's all," Neal answered as he stared at his wrinkly fingertips.

"Neal, Mommy and I would love you even if all your teeth fell out and your skin was as wrinkly as a raisin and you were as bald as Mozzie. We would love you even if your skin turned green and you grew hair on your nose and toes. No matter what you look like, we will always love you. Now, why don't you tell me what's going on?"

Peter was surprised to see tears fill Neal's eyes. He hated it when the kid cried and he suddenly wished that Elizabeth was there. He was just about to call for her when Neal started talking.

"My teeth are going to fall out, Daddy! I didn't mean to eat so much candy and I promise I tried really hard to take care of them, but they're all wiggly and loose and they're going to fall out!"

Peter felt relief surge through him and tried his best to contain his laughter. The last thing Neal needed was for him to laugh at him. "Listen, bud, why don't we get you out of the tub and into your pajamas. Then we can talk about this, okay. I need to explain a few things to you."

Peter made sure that Neal washed himself thoroughly and then quickly washed his hair. After drying him off and helping him get dressed, he watched as Neal sadly brushed his teeth. Once Neal was done, Peter picked him and swung him around to his back for a piggyback ride. Taking him downstairs, they found Elizabeth curled up on the couch, reading a book.

"Hey, sweetie," she said when she saw Neal. "Why don't you come and sit with me for a little while?"

Peter swung Neal back around and plopped him gently on the couch next to Elizabeth. "I think we need to have a talk," he said as he sat down next to Neal.

Elizabeth thought that something must have happened while Neal was taking a bath. _Did he get into some sort of trouble? Was Peter upset with him?_ She could tell by the look on Neal's face that something was wrong.

"What's wrong?" Elizabeth asked.

Peter gave her a quick rundown on the questions Neal had asked him upstairs. By the time he was done explaining everything to her, she wanted to both laugh and cry at the same time. _Her poor baby!_

"Neal, sweetie, why didn't you tell us what was going on?"

Neal shrugged his small shoulders and snuggled closer into Elizabeth's side. Elizabeth turned her body so she was facing him better and put her fingers under his chin, lifting his face up.

"Sweetie, there isn't anything wrong with your teeth and I'm sorry that you were so scared."

"But, there is, Mommy! Look!" Neal opened his mouth and wiggled his front teeth with his tongue. "See? They're all wiggly and they're going to fall out!"

"Honey, they _are_ going to fall out, but that's perfectly normal. It happens to everyone."

"But, I don't want them to fall out. I don't want to not have any teeth, because then Miss Powell won't want to marry me when I'm older and I'll have to eat pudding forever and be a vegeterrarium forever."

By this time, tears were falling down Neal's face and he had started to hiccup. Peter picked Neal up and slid underneath him, seating the boy on his lap.

"Listen, bud, what mommy is trying to say is that everyone loses their teeth when they're little. Right now, you have a mouth full of baby teeth, but you also have big people teeth hiding behind those, waiting to come out."

"But, I don't Daddy! I only have these teeth."

"You can't see the other ones yet, sweetie," Elizabeth explained. "But when they're ready to come out, they push your baby teeth down, making them loosen up until they fall out. Then your big people teeth will move into place."

"Why does it have to happen that way?" Neal asked seriously. "That's weird."

"Well, imagine how weird it would be if babies had big adult teeth in their mouth. Or if adults had tiny little baby teeth. It would look funny, wouldn't it?" Peter asked.

Neal giggled at the thought of his daddy having little tiny teeth. "Are you sure about all of this?" he asked. "Are you sure I won't have to be a vegeterrrarium forever?"

"We're sure, sweetie," Elizabeth reassured him. "In fact, I can prove it to you."

Elizabeth got up and went over to the bookshelf. After a few minutes of searching, she pulled out a photo album and brought it over to the couch. Flipping through the pages, she finally found what she was looking for.

"Look at this, Neal. This is Daddy when he was just about your age."

Neal stared at the picture and then laughed. "You look funny, Daddy. You don't have your front teeth and you look like you have a bowl for hair."

Elizabeth laughed at the look of indignation on her husband's face. Before Peter could say anything, Neal got a funny look on his face.

"Am I going to look funny when I lose my teeth?" he asked. "Because if I do I'm not going back to school."

Elizabeth pulled Neal to her and smothered him with kisses. "Trust me, Neal. You are going to be the most adorable toothless six year old this world has ever seen. Now, let's talk about the tooth fairy…."

* * *

Author's note: I was really missing writing in this universe, so I hope you enjoy this. It's just a little piece of fluff for all of you that love little Neal. I might possibly write another chapter, detailing Neal's experience with the tooth fairy. Anybody want to see Peter wearing tights? Lol.

Thanks so much for reading. Please review, if you're so inclined.


	2. How Not To Catch A Tooth Fairy

Let Your Heart Hold Fast: Loose Teeth and Cannonballs

Part II

* * *

Neal sat in Elizabeth's lap, listening to everything she said, with a look of wonder shining on his face. Peter almost laughed at the way the boy's mouth hung open, his tongue wiggling his loose teeth back and forth. _How had they missed the fact that his teeth were loose? They both looked like one good sneeze would knock them right out of Neal's mouth._

Once Elizabeth was done explaining the Tooth Fairy to him, Neal couldn't sit still any longer.

"Can you pull them out, Mommy? That way I can put them under the pillow tonight and the Tooth Fairy can bring me stuff."

"I think it's better to just let them come out on their own, sweetie," Elizabeth explained. "And the way they wiggle, I really don't think it's going to be too much longer."

Neal looked disappointed at her words, but didn't argue. Instead, he looked up at Peter. "Did you ever catch the Tooth Fairy when you were little, Daddy?"

"No way," Peter answered. "The Tooth Fairy is much too sneaky for that. The Fairy rulebook says that he has to stay hidden from all the children."

Peter couldn't believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. _Fairy rulebook? Where did that come from?!_

Neal's face lit up with what could only be described as a mischievous look, but he quickly looked away before either of his parents saw it. "What kind of stuff did the Tooth Fairy bring you when you lost _your _teeth, Daddy?"

"Well, let me think," Peter said. "I remember one time he brought me a nice, shiny quarter and another time he brought me a banana."

"A quarter and a banana?" Neal laughed. "Your teeth must have been yucky, Daddy, or else they would have been worth a lot more. I bet I'll get a million dollars for mine!"

Elizabeth laughed at Neal's statement, causing Peter to roll his eyes. "My teeth were _not_ yucky, little man. I took really good care of them when I was your age. The Tooth Fairy just didn't have a lot of money that year, I guess."

Neal didn't look like he believed Peter, but he wisely didn't say anything more. Instead, he leaned against Elizabeth's side, thinking about all the money he was sure to get for his teeth.

* * *

Three days later, Neal was disappointed that neither one of his loose teeth had fallen out yet. He jumped out of bed each morning, hoping to be toothless, only to be saddened by the sight of them still anchored in his gums. He constantly wiggled them with his tongue or his finger until Elizabeth finally asked him to stop.

"Neal, just leave your teeth alone, okay? They'll fall out when they're ready and they don't need any help from you."

"I don't think they're _ever_ going to fall out, Mommy. What if the Tooth Fairy forgets about me?"

"He won't forget about you," Elizabeth assured him. "I promise."

For the most part, Neal stopped wiggling his teeth. A few times she had to remind him, but overall he stopped, much to Elizabeth's relief. However, even though he stopped trying to get his teeth to fall out, he didn't forget about the Tooth Fairy. It was all he could talk about anymore.

On the fourth day after Neal had learned about the Tooth Fairy, they were sitting at the breakfast table, enjoying some warm bowls of blueberry oatmeal. Neal looked like he was half asleep, but he suddenly sat up straighter and started laughing. Elizabeth and Peter stared at him, wondering what was so funny.

"Neal? What's so funny, sweetie?" Elizabeth finally asked when he had stopped laughing.

Neal looked at Peter and started laughing again. "I remembered a dream I had last night," he giggled.

"It must have been a good dream, since you're laughing so much," Elizabeth answered with a smile.

"It was funny," Neal giggled again. "Daddy was helping the Tooth Fairy and he was wearing funny clothes.

"What kind of funny clothes?" Elizabeth laughed. She laughed even harder when she saw the look on Peter's face.

"He looked like a ballerina, Mommy. He had pink things on his legs and a ballerina dress."

Elizabeth nearly fell out of her chair as she laughed. "He was wearing tights and a tutu?" she laughed. "What was he doing?"

"I don't remember," Neal said. "But he was yelling at the Tooth Fairy to cowboy up. Just like he always tells me. The Tooth Fairy didn't like that."

Elizabeth actually snorted when she looked at Peter again. "It's not that funny, El," Peter growled.

"Peter, you were wearing tights! And a tutu!"

"It was a dream, El."

"It's still funny. What I wouldn't give for a picture of that!"

* * *

The next morning, Peter and Neal were eating breakfast while Elizabeth was talking on the phone. When she entered the dining room she had a big smile on her face.

"Peter, that was Ashton, Jennings &amp; King. They want to hire Burke Premiere Events for their annual 'Partners In Giving' gala."

"That's great, hon!"

"It's one of the biggest events of the summer, Peter. Very prestigious! Every event planner in the state of New York wants to be a part of it. I can't believe they called me!"

"Why wouldn't they call you, El? You're an amazing event planner and I think the word is finally getting around." Peter stood up and pulled his wife into his arms, kissing her ardently. "I'm so proud of you!"

"There's just one catch, though," Elizabeth said. "The venue is under construction, so they need me to check it out and talk with the contractors and then meet with them afterwards."

"Why is that a catch?" Peter asked.

"Well, apparently they are in Rochester tonight for preliminary planning. They want me to meet them there after I've checked out the site and then come back with them tomorrow. They offered to put me up in a hotel for the night and arranged for all of my transportation to and from."

"That sounds great, El."

"Are you sure? You don't mind me leaving overnight? We had plans tonight, remember?"

Peter glanced at Neal and turned back to his wife. "Elizabeth, this is a great opportunity for you. We can reschedule our plans for tonight and Neal and I can find something else to do. We'll be fine."

"Okay," Elizabeth said as she looked frantically around the room. "Where's my planner? And my purse?"

Peter smiled gently at his wife. "They're both where you always leave them, hon. Now, take a deep breath and focus."

Elizabeth laughed nervously, wondering what was wrong with herself. She was acting like this was her first event. "I don't know why I'm so nervous," she laughed.

Neal had been taking everything in stride until the moment Elizabeth was about to walk out the door. Just as she knelt down in front of him, he started begging her to stay.

"Mommy, please don't go," he pleaded. "I want you to stay here. Please!"

"Sweetie, it's just for one night. I'll be home by lunchtime tomorrow, okay?"

"But, we were going to go to the planetarium, remember? We were going to look at all the stars and get ice cream!"

By this time, there were a few tears falling down Neal's face and Elizabeth could barely stand to look into his big blue eyes. "Neal, I need to do this, sweetie. It's part of my job to do things like this."

Neal threw himself into her arms, grabbing her neck as if he wasn't ever going to let go. "What if the Tooth Fairy comes tonight, Mommy? You won't be here."

"But, Daddy will be here, Neal," she explained. "And he knows what to do if your tooth falls out, okay? I explained everything to him."

Peter stepped up to Neal and gently pulled him away from Elizabeth. "Hey, kiddo…..Mommy has to go, but she'll be home tomorrow. That means you and I get to come up with some new plans for tonight."

Neal looked sadly at Elizabeth, but eventually his face brightened. "Can we see Mozzie?"

Peter groaned at that, but quickly agreed. "I'll call him and see if he wants to join us, okay?"

Elizabeth and Peter were both relieved when it looked like Neal was satisfied with the change in plans. Elizabeth picked Neal up and smothered his face with kisses. "I'll call you tonight, okay? And you can tell me all about how much fun you had with Daddy and Mozzie."

* * *

It was almost four in the afternoon by the time Mozzie finally called back. After assuring the paranoid man that Neal was fine, Peter asked him if he could join them for the evening. Mozzie was happy to be able to see his young friend again and quickly agreed to meet them at seven o'clock.

Peter decided to take Neal and Satchmo to the park, so they both could run off some of their excess energy. Peter had a sneaky suspicion that Neal had snuck into the cookie jar after lunch and was now hyped up on sugar, so an hour at the park was probably a good idea.

As Satchmo and Neal ran around the playground, Peter sat on a park bench, keeping a close eye on his son. Whenever Neal went down the slide, he would be out of sight for a few seconds, making Peter a little nervous. Fortunately, there weren't a lot of people at the park at that time, making Peter less anxious.

He watched as Neal climbed up the slide again, marveling at the unusual grace the child held in his movements. He listened as Neal called to Satchmo to move away from the front of the slide and then watched as Neal pushed off from the top. Seconds later, he heard Satchmo yelp and Neal cry out, causing him to jump up and run as fast as he could to the slide. Once he got around it, he found Satchmo sitting off to the side and Neal sitting at the bottom, looking like he was trying not to cry.

"Are you okay, buddy?" Peter asked as he knelt in front of Neal. The boy's eyes were moist with tears, but they hadn't started to fall yet. "What happened?"

"Satchmo made me fall," Neal whimpered. "Bad dog, Satchmo! I told you to get out of the way!"

"Neal, I don't think Satchmo understood what you were saying. He was probably just waiting for you to come down so he could play with you."

Neal looked back at Satchmo, who Peter noticed was looking properly chastised, for a dog. "I'm sorry, Satchmo," Neal said. "You're not a bad dog. You're the best dog ever!"

Satchmo loped forward, licking Neal's face and causing the boy to laugh. While he was laughing, Peter noticed something.

"Hey, little man…..guess what? I think your collision with Satchmo knocked your tooth out." Peter looked around, trying to find the lost tooth, while Neal reached up and felt the space where his tooth used to be.

"Where is it, Daddy?" Neal yelled as he frantically looked for his tooth. "Where did it go?"

"It's here somewhere, buddy. We'll find it."

After searching for nearly twenty minutes without any luck, Peter finally decided to call it quits. "I'm sorry, Neal. I have no idea where it went."

Now, Neal's eyes filled with tears and they spilled over onto his cheek. "I need it, Daddy," he cried. "The Tooth Fairy won't come if I don't put it under my pillow. We have to find it!"

"We've been looking for twenty minutes, Neal. I don't think we're going to find it." Peter suddenly wished that Elizabeth was here to help him. He knew that Neal was going to be nearly impossible to console, and he wasn't sure if he was up to the task. As Neal continued to cry, Peter called Satchmo over to him to put his leash on. The dog had been sitting quietly off to the side as Peter and Neal searched, but was now eager to play again. Peter grabbed the dog's collar, trying to hook the leash to it and just as he pulled the collar away from Satchmo's neck, he saw something fall to the ground.

"Neal! Look what I found!" Peter held up the small white tooth, a wide grin spreading across his face. "I found your tooth, buddy. It was buried under Satchmo's collar."

Neal jumped up and ran to where Peter was, his tears forgotten as soon as he saw his tooth. "You found it, Daddy!" Neal yelled. "I knew you'd find it! You find everything!"

After grabbing the tooth from Peter, he threw his arms around his neck. Peter flinched when one of Neal's arms knocked into his nose, causing his eyes to immediately start to water. He pried Neal's arms from around his neck and stood up, trying to ignore the burning in his eyes and nose. Neal stared up at his dad, surprised to see him crying.

"It's okay, Daddy," Neal soothed softly. "We found it, so you don't have to be sad anymore. Don't cry…."

"I'm not crying, Neal," Peter explained. "My eyes are just watering."

"Mommy says it's okay to cry when you're upset, Daddy. She said you don't have to be embarrassed to cry just because you're a man."

"I'm not crying, Neal!" Peter repeated.

"It sure does look like you're crying, Daddy."

* * *

By the time they had walked home, Peter's eyes had finally stopped watering. Peter still hadn't convinced Neal that he wasn't actually crying, so he just hoped that the boy wouldn't tell anyone else. Once they were home, he helped Neal to clean up a little bit, especially making sure that he got all the dirt cleaned out from under his fingernails. Neal always hated to have dirty fingernails.

After they were done, Peter suggested that Neal put his tooth under his pillow. Neal, of course, had other plans.

"I want to show Mozzie, Daddy. This is something you should share with your best friend."

Peter didn't argue with Neal. Instead, he went into the kitchen and pulled out a ziplock baggie and watched as Neal gently dropped his tooth into it. Peter couldn't keep from smiling when he saw Neal's tongue poking through the now empty space where the tooth had been.

An hour later, they were seated at an outside table at a little restaurant called The Painter's Palette. Mozzie was already there when they arrived, so they were seated quickly, even though the line was long. Neal was excited to see that every table had a palette of paints and an easel with a large sketchpad. He was even more excited to see Mozzie.

"Mozzie!" he yelled as he ran to the table.

Peter tried to slow him down, but Neal was too fast for him. Once he made it to the table, he climbed up into the tall chair, turned to Mozzie, and smiled as widely as he could.

"Mon frère, you seem to be missing a tooth. Did the government finally give up on putting fluoride in our water, Suit? Are they finally tired of trying to make us all crazy and lowering our nation's IQ?"

Neal had no idea what Mozzie was talking about, but Peter knew that the man was spouting off some crazy conspiracy theory. Instead of answering, he just rolled his eyes and pulled Neal back until he was sitting safely in his chair.

"Mozzie, it fell out today. You wanna see?" Neal reached into his pocket and pulled out the ziplock baggie. "What do you think, Mozzie?" he asked as he held it up for the man to see. "How much do you think it's worth?"

"How much is it worth? To who, mon frère?"

"To the Tooth Fairy, Mozzie! I'm going to put it under my pillow tonight and the Tooth Fairy will come and take it and leave me a present."

Mozzie looked up at Peter as if he were crazy. "Who told you that, Neal?"

"Mommy and Daddy told me," Neal answered. "Daddy said the Tooth Fairy brought him a quarter when he lost his first tooth, but I think mine's worth a lot more than that, don't you? What did you get from the Tooth Fairy?"

Mozzie couldn't believe that Peter and Elizabeth would fill little Neal's head up with such drivel. "Who is this Tooth Fairy, Neal? And why would The Suit be okay with some strange thing coming into your room while you're sleeping?"

Neal looked at Mozzie in confusion. "Mozzie, it's the Tooth Fairy. He's not a strange thing…...he's a….a….a fairy! And he brings money or presents!"

Neal looked completely affronted at the fact that his friend was talking bad about the Tooth Fairy. "Didn't he ever bring you anything?" Neal asked in a sad voice.

"No, Neal. Never. I've never seen the Tooth Fairy and I've never gotten anything for my teeth. That's because the Tooth Fairy doesn't…"

Before Mozzie could finish his statement, Peter interrupted. "That's because the Tooth Fairy is like Santa Claus, Neal. He only comes if you truly believe in him. Maybe Mozzie didn't believe in him when he was your age."

Neal turned back to Mozzie and looked at him sadly. "That's awful, Mozzie. I wish I was there with you when you were little. I would have helped you believe and I bet you would have gotten a lot of money for your teeth."

Mozzie looked like he wanted to continue, but he noticed that Peter was looking at him pleadingly. Instead, he steered the conversation into a different direction, encouraging Neal to draw something on the Easel. Once Neal's attention was diverted to the paints and sketchpad, Peter and Mozzie sat back and watched him.

Mozzie could feel Peter looking at him, making him feel a little nervous. He didn't like being so carefully stared at. After a few long seconds of uncomfortable staring, Peter finally spoke. "Thank you for not pushing that. It's important to Elizabeth for Neal to have the same experiences she had as a child. I've been building up the Tooth Fairy story more for her sake, than his."

Mozzie nodded his head slightly before turning his attention back to Neal.

"He's really good," Mozzie said, pointing at what Neal was drawing. "Although, I have no idea why he's drawing a picture of you wearing pink tights and a tutu….."

Peter nearly spit out his drink as he turned to look at what his son was drawing. "Neal….." he growled. "I thought we agreed to not talk about that!"

"I'm not talking about it, Daddy. I'm drawing it." Neal looked at Peter as if that made all the sense in the world before turning back to his painting.

* * *

By the time they got home, Neal was completely amped up again. Peter tried to make sure that he didn't eat too much ice cream, but it still must have been too much. He was glad that Elizabeth wasn't home to witness Neal's hyperactivity.

After getting Neal in and out of the bathtub, Peter let him pick out a movie to watch. He was surprised when the boy picked out Home Alone, remembering how many times they had watched it at Christmas. Peter didn't really like to think about last Christmas, recalling how lost he and Elizabeth had been when Neal had been taken by his paternal grandfather. Once the boy had come home, they did everything they could to make sure he had a good Christmas, even though the holiday had already passed. Elizabeth and Neal had watched Home Alone one night when they were waiting for Peter to come home and Neal had loved the movie. From that night on, he wanted to watch it constantly. Eventually, Peter had to insist that Neal find a different movie to obsess over.

As they watched the movie, Neal was uncommonly quiet, especially in the parts where the thieves were inside the house. He watched as Kevin set up numerous obstacles and traps for the thieves. Peter just sat and wondered how the boy could watch the same movie so many times. Right as the movie was over, Elizabeth called and Neal told her about everything that had happened that day. Peter knew that she was disappointed to miss everything, but there really wasn't much he could do. After talking for almost twenty minutes, Elizabeth finally said goodnight to her two boys.

Finally, it was time for Neal to go to bed. Peter carried him upstairs and placed him in his bed before Neal informed him that he had left his tooth downstairs. Trudging back downstairs, Peter found the baggie lying under the blanket that Neal had been cuddled up with. Trudging back upstairs, he handed the coveted tooth over to Neal.

Neal grabbed the baggie, making sure that the tooth was still there. After close inspection, he turned back to Peter. "Daddy, do you think I should brush it so it's all shiny and clean?"

"I think it's fine just the way it is, son. I don't think the Tooth Fairy will be too picky."

Neal didn't look completely convinced, but without another word, he placed the tooth safely under his pillow.

"What story do you want me to read, buddy?" Peter asked.

"I don't want a story tonight, Daddy. I want to go to sleep so the Tooth Fairy will come."

After giving Neal a quick hug and kiss, Peter left the room, hoping that the boy would fall asleep soon. He was feeling pretty tired himself, so he went and sprawled out on his bed, thinking that he would close his eyes for only a few seconds. Instead, he fell asleep for several hours.

* * *

Neal lay in his bed, unable to fall asleep. He wanted to, but he also wanted to see if he could catch the Tooth Fairy in action. His daddy had told him that no one had ever actually seen the Tooth Fairy and he realized that he really, really wanted to be the one to finally see him. _Or her_, he thought to himself. _If no one had ever seen the Tooth Fairy, how did they know if it was a boy or girl?_

Neal thought of all the attention he would get from everyone if he was the one who saw the Tooth Fairy for the first time. He imagined that he would be famous and probably rich, too. As he thought about the possibility of newfound notoriety and riches, he felt his eyes growing heavier and heavier. He knew that he probably wouldn't be able to stay awake much longer, so he jumped out of bed and walked downstairs. _Time to take action…._

* * *

Peter woke up suddenly, feeling like he was forgetting something important. When he realized that he was still wearing his clothes, everything came rushing back to him. He looked at his watch and saw that it was almost three o'clock in the morning. He walked over to the closet and reached up onto the highest shelf, looking for the bag that Elizabeth had told him about.

Once he had the bag down, he looked inside and wondered how he was supposed to get all of the contents of the bag under Neal's pillow without waking him up. He pulled out a small book, a coupon for three chocolate chip cookies, signed by the Tooth Fairy, and a five dollar bill. The Tooth Fairy's signature looked an awful lot like Diana's writing and Peter wondered when Elizabeth had roped her into doing that. He also wondered what Elizabeth was thinking. _All of that for one single tooth?_

Knowing better than to question his wife, he just walked out of the bedroom and over to Neal's door. He knew the boy should be sound asleep, but he listened at the door anyway. He was relieved when he heard what sounded like Neal's gentle breathing.

Stepping into the dark room, Peter saw a strange shadow next to Neal's bed. He didn't want to turn the lights on, so he slowly stepped forward, wishing that he had taken the time to let his eyes adjust to the darkness. Just before he reached the strange shadow, which was beginning to look like a pile of pillows, he stepped on something with his bare feet. He couldn't stop the cry that erupted from him, but before he could figure out what he had stepped on, he stepped on something else. This time, he let fly a few curse words, as he lost his balance and stepped forward. Again unable to stop himself, he fell forward into the strange shadow, which was indeed a pile of pillows. Unfortunately, piled on top of the pillows was a stack of thumbtacks, all with the sharp end pointing up. As he fell forward, he tried to catch himself with his arms and hands, only to find his arms embedded with the tacks. He kept himself from falling forward even more by grabbing the corner of Neal's desk, but this only served to make him stumble to the left where he promptly stepped into a bowl of something gooey and cold. After stepping into the bowl, his weight shifted again and he fell backwards, landing on what could only be every single Lego Neal owned.

With every part of his body aching and with his brain trying desperately to figure out what the hell had just happened, he stayed down on the floor, trying to figure out his next move. Just as his eyes felt like they were adjusting to the dark, there was a bright flash followed by a bright light shining directly into his eyes, effectively blinding him.

"Daddy?" Neal said disappointedly. "What are you doing?"

"Neal George Caffrey-Burke! What is all of this?" Peter growled.

"I was trying to catch the Tooth Fairy," Neal moaned. "And you ruined everything, Daddy!"

"You set a trap for the Tooth Fairy?" Peter asked in disbelief. "Why would you do that?!"

"I wanted to prove to Mozzie that he existed," Neal explained. "And I thought that if I caught him, I could ask him to give Mozzie some presents, too. It's not fair that Mozzie didn't ever get anything from him. I'm sure he was a good kid with nice teeth, just like me."

Laying on his bed of Legos, Peter fervently disagreed with the "good kid" idea. Neal definitely was too mischievous for his own good. And definitely way too smart….

* * *

Author's note: Wow! This chapter was getting a little too long, so I'm going to stop here. I may or may not write a little epilogue to this supposed one-shot that turned into more, lol. I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter, too. Did everything make sense to you all?

Thank you so much for reading. This universe is just so much fun to write in, so I'm really glad that you all seem to be enjoying it. That makes me want to just keep on adding to this story.


	3. The Joys of Innocence

Let Your Heart Hold Fast: Loose Teeth and Cannonballs

Part III

* * *

Author's note: Well, here it is. This chapter got away from me a little bit and ended up being almost five thousand words. Wow! I hope you enjoy!

* * *

"You ruined everything, Daddy!" Neal cried. "I had everything all set to catch him!"

"_I_ ruined everything?" Peter couldn't believe the nerve of the kid. "I'm the one that's laying on a bed of Legos, with thumbtacks imbedded in my arms, and something cold and gooey on my foot. What is that anyway?"

"It's pudding, Daddy," Neal explained, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And it all worked! If you hadn't ruined it all, I would have caught the Tooth Fairy."

Peter carefully pulled himself up into a sitting position, his back protesting the movement immediately. He didn't know what part of him was hurting most, actually. His back felt like it was completely bruised, of course, and his arms stung from the punctures of the tacks. He also realized that his left knee was feeling sore and he figured he must have twisted it in the process of falling. Looking at the mess that was on his foot and on Neal's floor, he groaned. _Elizabeth was going to kill him!_

Not knowing what else to do, he took off his t-shirt and used it to clean off his foot before standing up. He couldn't help the surge of anger that rushed through him when he realized that it was three o'clock in the morning and he had chocolate pudding under his toenails and between his toes. Neal, on the other hand, had a huge grin covering his face.

"What are you grinning for, little man? You're in big trouble."

Neal's grin fell at those words and he looked guiltily at Peter. "The trap wasn't supposed to trap you, Daddy. It was supposed to catch the Tooth Fairy. You just got in the way!"

Peter almost started laughing at the absurdity of the entire situation, but he knew that once he started he wouldn't be able to stop. "Why are you trying to catch the Tooth Fairy anyway?" he finally asked.

"I have some questions for him," Neal answered. "And I wanna be rich and famous!"

This time Peter did laugh. "You think catching the Tooth Fairy is going to make you rich and famous, bud? And what kind of questions do you have for him?"

"I wanna know what he does with all the teeth he collects, Daddy. And I want to ask him why he never brought Mozzie anything and why he only brought you a quarter and a banana. Is it because you were naughty and disbedident? And if I caught him, I'd probably have to start signing autographs and smiling a lot. There would probably be popperyahtzee everywhere!"

_How in the world did the kid know about paparazzi and signing autographs?!_ Peter was amazed at how much Neal knew for a six year old. He really was too smart for his own good.

"Neal, you can't catch the Tooth Fairy, bud."

"Why not?" Neal asked.

Peter rolled his eyes, wondering how in the world he had gotten himself into this situation. "Because he's the Tooth Fairy, kiddo. He's just as elusive as Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. He's never been caught and I don't think he ever will."

"Everybody can get caught, Daddy, if the right person is looking for him. And I'm the right person! I set up this trap all by myself and it would have worked if you didn't mess it all up!" Now Neal was grumbling, his discontent evident on his little face. "Why did you have to ruin it?!"

"Neal, you shouldn't have set the trap to begin with! When I left you in bed, I expected you to behave yourself and go to sleep. Instead, you must have been walking all through the house, looking for your supplies for the trap. You know that's against our rules."

"But, it was important, Daddy!" Neal whined. "And I'm six years old now."

"I don't care how old you are, little man. You are not allowed to wander about the house in the middle of the night! Now, climb down from your bed and help me clean it up."

"Wait!" Neal yelled. "I don't want to take it down! The Tooth Fairy still might come. I could still catch him."

"No, you can't. I'm pretty sure the Tooth Fairy is going to steer clear of this room tonight. Now, let's go!"

Neal sighed loudly, but quickly obeyed his father, realizing that the man was definitely in a bad mood. Once he was off the bed, he carefully picked up the stack of pillows and threw them on his bed. Then, he started picking up the scattered thumbtacks, while Peter worked on cleaning up the chocolate pudding mess.

Peter was still scrubbing the rug by the time Neal had finished picking up the tacks and his Legos. When he finally realized that the stain wasn't going to get any better with the tools he had, he stood up and looked at his son.

"Mommy isn't going to be very happy when she sees this stain on your rug, Neal. In fact, I think we both might be in a lot of trouble."

Neal looked unhappily at the rug. "I'll tell her I'm sorry, Daddy. She won't be mad if it's an accident."

"But, it wasn't an accident, was it?" Peter answered.

"Yes, it was, Daddy. That trap was supposed to be for the Tooth Fairy. You messed it up on accident, remember? So, it's really your fault and I think you need to tell her you're sorry, too."

"Neal George Caffrey-Burke, this is in no way my fault! This was all you, little man!" Peter stepped over the stain, intending to pick Neal up and put him back in his bed, but instead he stepped on a leftover thumbtack. "Damn it!" he yelped as he hopped up and down on his right foot. Unfortunately, he let a few more curse words fly without thinking and Neal heard every one of them.

"Daddy!" Neal admonished. "Those are bad, bad words! You're being very disbedident!"

"That hurt!" Peter cried as he tried to pull the tack out of his toe. As he stood there balanced on one foot, Neal started to walk over to his bed. "Wait!" he yelled. "Don't move, Neal! I need to check to see if there are any more thumbtacks on the floor."

Peter searched diligently, but didn't find any more. Once he was done, he picked Neal up and laid him down on the bed. "Okay, Neal…you're going to go to sleep and we're going to talk more about this in the morning, okay? It's way past both of our bedtimes."

Neal scooted down under his blankets, allowing Peter to tuck him in and all the while studying the man's face. "Daddy? Maybe we can just not tell Mommy about the rug, okay? I don't want her to be mad at me. And we don't have to tell her about the bad words you said, either."

"Go to sleep, Neal," he said as he bent over and kissed Neal on the top of the head. "It's too late to talk about any of this right now. Goodnight!"

"Goodnight, Daddy," Neal answered in a forlorn voice. "I'm sorry I caught you….."

* * *

The next morning, Peter and Neal slept in rather late. When Peter finally woke up he realized that it was almost ten-thirty. Suddenly remembering everything that had happened a few hours ago, he did a quick inventory of all of his injuries. His back still hurt quite a bit and his knee was still really achy. He also winced at the pattern of small dots that littered his forearm from the imbedded thumbtacks. He could barely feel the puncture site on his toe, but he knew it would probably bother him a little once he put his shoes on.

Stepping out of his room, he walked over to Neal's and peaked in. To his surprise, Neal was wide awake, but still in his bed. It looked like there were a few tearstains on his face and pillow.

"Hey, buddy, how long have you been awake?" he asked.

Neal just shrugged his shoulder and continued to stare at the ceiling.

"What's wrong, buddy?" Peter stepped into the room, checking out the floor for forgotten sharp objects on his way over to Neal's bed.

"The Tooth Fairy didn't come back, Daddy. My tooth is still there." Neal's little voice quivered causing Peter's heart to break a little.

"Well, I'm sure the Tooth Fairy decided that it was a good idea to come back another time. I bet he wanted to give you time to rethink your idea to trap him."

"But, what if he doesn't come back? What if he's mad at me and he never comes back?"

By this time, tears were falling down Neal's face and Peter realized that he would do anything and everything he could to make his son stop crying. Crawling into the bed next to him, Peter leaned up against the headboard and pulled Neal into his chest.

"Okay, buddy…listen up. The Tooth Fairy did show up last night, but I stopped him before he could come in here. I told him that it would be better if he came back tomorrow night."

At those words, Neal sat up on his knees and grabbed Peter's face with both of his hands, searching Peter's eyes with his own big blue eyes. "Why, Daddy? Why did you do that?" Neal asked.

"Because you were disobedient last night, little man. You broke a very important house rule, so I felt you needed a consequence that would help you to remember to stay in bed the next time."

"I hate consequences," Neal said with a pout. "They're no fun at all."

"Maybe next time you'll follow the rules, hmmm? Then the consequences would be the good kind."

Neal didn't answer for a few minutes and Peter was really beginning to wonder what was going through his smart little head. Just as he was about to ask, though, Neal finally spoke.

"What did he look like, Daddy?" he asked.

Peter had no idea how to answer that question, so it took him almost a minute to formulate an answer. "Well, if was awfully dark in the hallway, bud, so I really didn't get a good look at him."

"But you're a FBI man, Daddy. You're supposed to pay attention, remember?"

Peter remembered telling Neal, one day not so long ago, that if wanted to be a FBI agent like him when he grew up, he would have to learn to pay attention better. _Boy, did he hate to have his words thrown back in his face._

"It was the middle of the night, Neal, and I hadn't gotten much sleep. And it was dark!"

"Please, Daddy, I really, really need to know!"

"Okay, well let's see…..He was tall, I guess, and he had dark hair like you." Peter had no idea what else to say and he hoped that was enough for Neal. Unfortunately, Neal's curiosity wasn't satisfied.

"What was he wearing, Daddy? And what did he say? Is he coming back tonight? Did you tell him that I have a really nice tooth for him?"

"He said he would come back tonight, Neal, as long as you behaved yourself. And I don't remember what he was wearing."

"Was he wearing a ballerina dress like you did in my dream?"

"I don't remember, Neal," Peter said. He really hated being reminded of Neal's dream.

"Daddy, I think you need to learn to pay attention better. I can help learn you, okay?"

"Help _teach _me, Neal, and I think I've got it under control. Now, I don't know about you, but I'm hungry. Let's go get some breakfast."

Peter stood up and before he could step away, Neal launched himself onto his back, nearly causing him to let loose with some more bad words. Luckily, he caught himself just in time.

* * *

Peter had just finished cleaning up the kitchen when he heard the sound of the front door opening, followed by the sound of Neal's excited voice and Satchmo's excited barking. Following the sounds into the entryway, he watched as Elizabeth struggled to contain Neal's enthusiasm.

"Good morning, sweetie," she said with a laugh. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you, too, Mommy!"

After greeting Satchmo and Peter, Elizabeth led them all into the living room. "How did my boys do on their own last night?" she asked. "What did the Tooth Fairy bring you, Neal?"

Neal's happy smile quickly disappeared, causing Elizabeth to sense that something had happened.

"I didn't get anything, Mommy," Neal reported sadly.

Elizabeth glared at her husband, who was looking a little uncomfortable with the current subject. _Did he forget to leave Neal's presents for him? _ _Did he really mess everything up? _

"Peter?"

Peter could tell by the way his wife was glaring at him that she thought he had messed everything up. _Didn't she have any faith in him? He wasn't that forgetful….._

"It's a really long story, El," he started. "I think maybe Neal should explain what happened."

Now it was Neal's turn to glare at Peter. Peter nearly laughed at how just seconds later that glare turned into the biggest wide-eyed look of innocence he had ever witnessed. He could tell that Elizabeth was taken in by it, too.

"The Tooth Fairy came, Mommy, but Daddy sent him away," Neal pouted.

"Why did Daddy do that?" she asked in confusion.

When Neal didn't answer, Peter urged him to continue with his own glare. "Go on, Neal…."

"Daddy? Maybe we should let Mommy take a nap. She looks tired."

"Nice try, little man, but Mommy's fine. Start talking…."

Neal looked sadly up at Elizabeth, his blue eyes filled with tears and his lower lip sticking out in an extremely cute pout. Peter could tell that the little boy was really working Elizabeth, hoping to get some sympathy from her.

"I didn't mean to be disbedident, Mommy. It just happened."

Peter growled at Neal, telling him to just tell Elizabeth what had happened.

"What did you do, sweetie?" Elizabeth asked.

"I set a trap to catch the Tooth Fairy, but I caught Daddy instead."

Peter was surprised when Elizabeth burst out in laughter. "You caught Daddy? That's a first! What kind of trap did you set?"

When Neal realized that his Mommy was laughing, he launched into his story with zeal. By the time he was finished, he had told her everything, leaving out only the part about the pudding and the stain on his rug. Elizabeth's stomach was hurting from laughing so hard. Peter looked offended that his wife found it all so funny, but of course, the look on his face only sent her into another laughing fit.

"Oh my goodness," she said as she tried to catch her breath. "What I wouldn't give to have seen all of that?!"

"It's really not funny, El," Peter said. "Do you have any idea how much it hurts to fall on Legos and step on thumbtacks?"

"Oh, hon…..I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

Peter looked a little placated by her concern. "I'm a little sore and bruised, but okay. I can't say the same for Neal's rug, though."

"What happened to Neal's rug?" she asked.

"Neal left out a pretty important part of the story, El. He forgot to tell you about the bowl of chocolate pudding he left on the floor for me to step in. Of course, that pudding ended up all over his rug."

"Neal George Caffrey-Burke, what were you thinking, young man? You know better than to take food up into your room."

"You said I couldn't eat in my room, Mommy. I wasn't eating it, though. I just used it in my trap. And it worked, Mommy! When Daddy stepped in it, it made him slide around and he fell on the Legos."

Neal looked awfully proud of himself and Elizabeth found herself wanting to laugh again. She knew she shouldn't, though, so she kept a straight face. "Well, young man, I think you and I will be spending some time trying to get that stain out of your rug."

"Okay," Neal said with a small smile. "I'm sorry about the rug, Mommy."

"It's okay, sweetie. It's just a rug."

* * *

Several hours later, they were just finishing lunch when Peter's phone rang. Since it was Sunday afternoon, he was surprised to see that it was Diana.

"Hey, Boss, there's been a break on the Johannsen case. We need you at the office."

After hearing a little bit about what was going on, Peter told her that he would be there as soon as he could. After hanging up the phone, Peter turned to his wife. "I need to go into the office for a little while, El."

"Oh, no," she answered. "Peter, I have to go back to the construction site this afternoon. I can't take Neal with me."

"I'll take him with me, El. I don't think I'll be there very long and we're just going to be working in the conference room. He'll be fine. Right, Neal?"

"Can I ride the elevators, Daddy?" Neal asked excitedly.

"I'll make you a deal, buddy. If you sit quietly while I do my work, I'll let you ride up to the top, okay?"

"Okay, Daddy."

An hour later, Peter and Neal walked into the White Collar division. Peter looked particularly unhappy and grumpy, a frown covering his face. Neal, on the other hand, looked decidedly happy about something. Diana, Jones, and a few other agents watched as the two of them walked up the stairs.

"Neal, you're not getting off to a very good start. I thought we made a deal that you were going to behave this afternoon."

"That's not what our deal was, Daddy," Neal answered. "You said I had to sit quietly while you worked. But you're not working yet, Daddy."

"Hey, Boss, is everything okay? You look a little tense." Diana could tell by the look on Peter's face that he was barely holding on to his temper.

"I'm fine, Diana. Just a little frustrated. Neal decided to push every single button on the elevator, so we stopped at every single floor."

A few of the agents laughed at that, but Diana and Jones knew better. With the mood Peter was in, they knew to tread lightly. It wouldn't take much to send him over the edge.

"Peter, why are you limping?" Jones asked.

Peter had no intention of going into the details of the night before, but Neal obviously did.

"He fell into my trap, Agent Jones. He snuck into my room and I caught him."

"You set a trap to catch Peter?" Jones asked. "Why did you do that?"

"I didn't mean to catch Daddy, Agent Jones. I was trying to catch the Tooth Fairy."

Suddenly, all of the agents were laughing, Diana and Jones included. They laughed even harder as Neal shared all of the details of his trap with them. It was hard for them to imagine their unflappable boss falling prey to a trap set up by a six year old.

Eventually, they all figured that they should stop laughing at Peter and get to work. Peter grabbed Neal by the arm and led him over to the chair closest to his. Seconds later, he placed several sheets of paper and a few pens in front of Neal and reminded him of their deal. He wasn't sure the kid had it in him to sit quietly for any long period of time, but he held out hope.

By the time the meeting was over, Peter was rather impressed with Neal's behavior. He only had to remind the boy to sit still and to be quiet a few times, which was unusual for the usually rambunctious child.

On their way out of the office, Neal looked up at Peter warily. "Did I behave good enough, Daddy? I tried really hard to be….um….to not be disbedident."

"You behaved very well, buddy, so it looks like we're going to be taking a ride in the elevators," Peter answered as he ruffled Neal's hair.

"Daddy! Don't mess up my hair!" Neal cried as he looked wildly around him. Peter followed his gaze and saw the look of relief that passed over Neal's face when he realized that none of the agents saw anything.

Minutes later, they were finally on the elevator and Neal was quick to push the button for the top floor. Within seconds they were at the top of the FBI building and Neal had a huge smile on his face. Peter wondered why Neal found riding the elevators to be so much fun. Just as he was about to push the button for the ground floor, Neal jumped forward and pushed every single button again.

"**Neal George Caffrey-Burke!"**

* * *

The bedtime process that night seemed to take forever. Neal chattered away at dinner, making sure to tell Elizabeth everything he could about his afternoon at the White Collar office. Elizabeth had to remind him several times to eat his dinner before it got cold.

Bath time was pretty much the same as usual. Neal played in his bubble bath while Peter thumbed through a magazine. When Neal complained that the water was getting cold, Peter added a little more warm water and then gently washed Neal's face.

Once he was dried off and in his pajamas, Peter made sure he brushed his teeth good enough to pass Elizabeth's inspection. Just as Neal was finishing up, his other loose tooth popped out and fell into the sink. Peter tried to grab it, but it went down the drain before he could.

"My tooth!" Neal screamed. "Daddy, get it!"

"I can't, Neal. It fell down the drain."

"Yes, you can, Daddy. Remember when Nana Nan lost her earring in the sink and you and Papa found it?"

By this time, Elizabeth had arrived in the bathroom, trying to figure out what all of the commotion was about. Peter looked at her desperately, hoping that she could talk some sense into Neal. _There was no way he was going to take the drain apart to find a tooth!_

"Neal, it's okay, sweetie. I'm sure the Tooth Fairy will understand."

Neal looked like he was about to cry, but he held it together. "But it was my best tooth, Mommy. I think the Tooth Fairy would have really liked it."

"Why don't we write a letter to him and explain what happened, sweetie?"

Neal didn't look too happy with the plan, but much to Peter's relief, he agreed. He wrote the letter with some help from Elizabeth and made sure to place it under his pillow right next to his other tooth. After a quick story from Peter, they both kissed him on the forehead and turned to leave. Just as Peter was about to walk out the door, he turned back to his son.

"Remember, Neal…No more traps. And no more roaming the house at night. I expect you to stay in bed, okay?"

"Okay, Daddy," Neal replied.

* * *

An hour later, Peter and Elizabeth checked on Neal, hoping to find him sound asleep. His gentle breathing told them what they wanted to hear.

"Be quiet," Elizabeth warned her husband. "If he wakes up and finds us in here, it will all be ruined for a second time."

Peter tiptoed over to Neal's bed, double checking the floor again, just in case. Once he was certain that Neal was in a deep sleep, he carefully reached under Neal's pillow and grabbed the bagged tooth. He also grabbed the letter that Neal had written to explain the loss of his tooth.

Once he handed those things to his wife, he grabbed the bag Elizabeth was holding. Unfortunately, the gifts would be a lot harder to place under Neal's pillow, but Peter was willing to try. Just as he lifted the corner of Neal's pillow, the boy moaned and turned over, thankfully facing the opposite way. Peter slipped the gifts under the pillow without any difficulty.

"Done!" He finally said. "Can we go to bed now? I'm exhausted."

* * *

Peter and Elizabeth suddenly woke up to the sound of Neal screaming loudly. "He came! He came! Look, Daddy! Look what he left me!"

Peter eyed the small bag that Neal was waving around. Before either one of them could sit up, Neal jumped up onto their bed and shoved his feet under the comforter, right up against Peter's back.

"Neal! Your feet are freezing!"

"Sorry, Daddy. I can't help it.

"What did you get, Neal?" Elizabeth asked. "Let us see."

"Look, Mommy. The Tooth Fairy wrote me a note telling me thanks, I think. Can you read it to me? Please?"

Elizabeth quickly read the note, which she had obviously written herself. "Well, sweetie….. It looks like the Tooth Fairy understands that you lost your tooth down the drain. He also seems a little concerned that you came so close to catching him last night. He says that he was impressed with your cleverness, but that he would appreciate it if you didn't do that again."

"Awwww," Neal groaned. "I had an idea for a few more traps. That's not fair! What else did he say, Mommy?"

"Well, he said that your tooth was a very nice tooth and he wanted to congratulate you on taking such good care of it. He said that you should always brush your teeth twice a day and that you shouldn't eat too much candy. He also said that you should always listen to your mommy and daddy."

Neal groaned again at her words. "Mommy? If candy is so bad for you, why do they have to make it taste so good? Why can't broccoli taste like candy and candy taste like broccoli?"

Elizabeth laughed at Neal's indignation. "But, you like broccoli, Neal," she reminded him.

"I like candy better, though," Neal answered. "What else did he say?"

"He said that he couldn't wait to see your other baby teeth when they fall out, and that he was sorry that your tooth fell down into the sink."

"Wow!"

"Why don't you open your bag and see what he brought you, sweetie?"

"I bet it's a million dollars, Mommy!" Neal exclaimed as he tore open the bag.

Elizabeth and Peter watched him closely as he looked inside with wide-eyed wonder. They both hoped that he wouldn't be disappointed when he realized that it wasn't a million dollars. Both were relieved when Neal turned back to them with a big smile, holding up his prize.

"Look, Mommy! It's a book about Jim the Monkey and his loose tooth! How did the Tooth Fairy know that I liked Jim the Monkey books?"

Peter gave his wife a big smile. "I think the Tooth Fairy is very wise, Neal."

Elizabeth smiled back. "What else did you get, Neal?"

Neal pulled out a few more things and examined them closely. "Wow! I got $2.00 and a…..um….a…..What is this, Mommy?" he finally asked.

Elizabeth took the paper from him and pretended to examine it closely. "It's a voucher, Neal, saying that whoever holds this is entitled to an extra chocolate chip cookie whenever he or she wants it."

Neal's face lit up even more. "You're right, Daddy. The Tooth Fairy is really, really wise. He knows how much I love chocolate chip cookies!"

"You're not disappointed that it's not a million dollars, buddy?" Peter asked.

"I'm glad it's not a million dollars, Daddy. If it was a million dollars, I'd probably just buy lots of candy and then the Tooth Fairy wouldn't want any more of my teeth."

Elizabeth and Peter laughed at that. Neal, however, suddenly looked serious. Actually, Peter thought he looked more mischievous than serious, which was never a good thing.

"Daddy? I know the Tooth Fairy said I shouldn't try to trap him anymore, but do you think it would be okay if I just tried to get a picture of him the next time?"

"He probably wouldn't mind that too much, I guess," Peter answered. "As long as there isn't any chocolate pudding, Legos, or thumbtacks involved.

Neal was quiet again for a few long seconds, obviously trying to come up with a plan. Elizabeth couldn't keep from laughing at the look on Peter's face when Neal spoke again.

"Daddy, do you think Agent Hughes would let me borrow the van the next time I lose a tooth? And maybe I can borrow Agent Jones, too. I think we need a stakeout…"

* * *

Author's note: Can't you just imagine Jones, Peter, and Neal sitting in the van during a stakeout for the Tooth Fairy? Lol. I know this was a silly little piece of fluff, but I hope you all enjoyed it. I love trying to come up with ways for Neal to exasperate Peter. He's just so good at it, right? By the way, who do you think won this epic battle between Neal George Caffrey-Burke and the Tooth Fairy? Would love to hear your opinions.

Anyway, for those of you reading What He Does Best, I'm working on the next chapter right now. I should hopefully have it up by tomorrow. Thanks so much for reading!


	4. Seeing Is Believing

Let Your Heart Hold Fast: Loose Teeth and Cannonballs

Part IV

* * *

Neal's plan to borrow the FBI van for a stakeout was doomed from the beginning. Elizabeth thought it was a great idea, of course, but Peter knew that there was absolutely no way he would ever ask Hughes to borrow the van for that particular reason. _He had to maintain at least a shadow of his formidable Special Agent persona, right?_

"You're kidding, right?" he asked his wife after she told Neal that it was a great idea. "You want me to use government resources to catch the Tooth Fairy?"

"Daddy," Neal interrupted, "we're not going to catch him, remember? We're just going to get a picture of him."

Peter looked at Elizabeth incredulously, wondering how he was going to get himself out of the situation he was in. Before he could say anything, Elizabeth spoke up.

"Come on, hon…..I'm sure Reese would be fine with you using the van. You know how he is when it comes to Neal."

Peter really _didn't_ know how he was when it came to Neal. The man always seemed to be annoyed by Neal's antics, but everyone knew that he really liked how smart the boy was. Peter would often notice Reese paying particularly close attention to whatever Neal was doing and the man had even taken the boy aside to talk to him several times. What they talked about, he had no idea, but Neal would often behave better afterwards. At least for a little while.

"I can't ask Reese something like that, El. I have a reputation to protect."

"It's okay, Daddy," Neal said. "I'll ask Grandpa for you."

Unfortunately, Peter had just taken a sip of his coffee, so when Neal's words hit him, he spit the coffee straight out in front of him.

"Peter!" Elizabeth cried. At the same time, Neal burst into giggles and Satchmo, who had caught some of the coffee right on his back, barked madly.

Peter stared wide-eyed at his son, before turning to Elizabeth. "Did he just call Reese "Grandpa"?"

"I think he did," Elizabeth laughed, as she grabbed a dish towel and cleaned up the mess. "Neal, when did you start calling Agent Hughes that?"

"I don't know," Neal answered, shrugging his small shoulders.

Peter still couldn't believe that his son had called his boss "Grandpa". "Does Agent Hughes know you call him that, kiddo?"

"Yeah," Neal answered quickly. "He told me I could after he said that I better start being gooder or else."

Now, Peter was even more confused. "What did he mean by that, Neal?"

"He was mad at me, Daddy. For going on the elevator by myself. He said I needed to learn to…..um….to… What's that word, Mommy? When I do what I'm supposed to do?"

"Behave?" Elizabeth offered. "Obey?"

"Yeah!" Neal said. "That one! He said I needed to learn how to obey you, Peter. He said that I wasn't being a good boy when I left you and went on the elevators. He said that next time he would… um….. well, that was when he said that I had to start being gooder or else."

"Wow, sweetie! You sure are a lucky little boy to have three grandpas!"

Neal smiled at that, but quickly looked worried. "I don't know, Mommy. I already have to obey two grandpas. I don't think I can handle another one. And Grandpa Reese is scary sometimes."

"Well, then, I suggest you try to learn to obey a little better, sweetie, okay?" Elizabeth kissed Neal on the nose, causing him to giggle again.

"I always try, Mommy," Neal sighed dramatically. But, it's no fun to be gooder!"

* * *

Luckily for Peter, by the next day, Neal had forgotten about his crazy plan to stakeout the Tooth Fairy. Now that he knew that he wasn't forever toothless and that everyone he saw thought that he looked absolutely adorable without his front teeth, he was eager to go back to school.

Of course, being one of the youngest ones in his class meant that most of his friends had already lost their own teeth. Neal couldn't help but wonder why none of them had ever told him about the Tooth Fairy. _That was definitely something you should share with your friends!_

Mornings at the summer playschool program consisted mostly of arts and crafts, which Neal loved. He sat next to Leah, of course, and there were several other kids at their table, too. Lean made a big deal about his missing teeth and she was equally excited about the treasures he had gotten from the Tooth Fairy. He was proudly showing her the letter from the Tooth Fairy when one of the boys sitting at the table started laughing.

"That's stupid!" he laughed. "Everyone knows the Tooth Fairy isn't real! Only babies believe in that!"

"He_ is_ real!" Neal yelled. "I have proof!"

"What? That letter? Your mom probably wrote that!"

Neal glared at the boy, whose name was Gavin. "She did not! I found it under my pillow and it's from the Tooth Fairy! My mommy wouldn't lie to me!"

"You're _mommy_? Wow, Neal…..you really are a baby."

Neal could feel tears burning his eyes and he tried his best to keep them from falling. "Shut up, Gavin! I'm not a baby!"

"Yes, you are!" Gavin continued to tease. "I bet you still suck your thumb, don't you?"

"No, I don't!" Neal cried.

By this time, Miss Powell was making her way over to their table. She arrived at the table just as Gavin had finished saying something else and Neal had responded by dumping his paint palette over the boy's head.

"Neal!" she cried. "Why did you do that?"

Neal looked up at his teacher, his big blue eyes full of tears. "He was being mean, Miss Powell. He called me a baby!"

Miss Powell looked over at Gavin, who now had a head full of paint. Looking around the room, she spotted one of her teaching assistants and called her over.

"Maggie, could you please take Gavin to the sink and help him clean up?"

Once Maggie and Gavin had left the table, she turned back to Neal, who was looking even more miserable. "Neal, why don't you come with me, okay? We need to have a little talk."

Neal stood up from his table and followed Miss Powell over into the quiet corner. He could feel the eyes of all of the other kids on his back, making his face turn even redder. Once they were away from the other students, Miss Powell knelt down in front of Neal.

"Neal, I can tell your upset and I'm sorry that Gavin's words hurt you. Can you explain to me what happened?"

Neal poured out the whole story, not even noticing that the tears had finally found their way down his face. Once he was done, Miss Powell took a tissue and gently wiped his face. She would never admit it, but Neal was one of her favorite students, so the sight of him so distraught was particularly upsetting.

"Thank you for telling me everything, Neal. I'm so sorry that Gavin said the things he did. I'll be having a talk with him, too, okay?"

Neal slowly nodded his head and gave Miss Powell a small smile. She wanted to pull him into a hug, but instead she braced herself for what she knew she had to do.

"Sweetie, I know you were upset, but you shouldn't have dumped your paints over Gavin's head. Remember what we talked about last week? Remember the story we read about William and the Big, Bad Bully? Do you remember how William felt after those boys said those things to him? He wanted to say mean things right back to them, but he didn't. Remember when the biggest bully knocked over William's bike? He wanted to knock over the bully's bike, too, but he didn't. Do you remember why he didn't, Neal?"

"Because he didn't want to be a bully, too," Neal said miserably. "And because he didn't want to get into trouble."

"You're right. And do you remember what his big sister said to him?"

"She told him that if he did anything to the big bully, then the big bully would just do something else to him. She said that it would never end unless someone stopped doing things."

"That's exactly right, Neal. Thank you for listening so well to the story."

Miss Powell didn't miss the way Neal's face lit up at her praise. "Now, what do you think you should do about this situation?" she asked gently.

Neal's face fell again and his eyes filled with tears. "I should tell Gavin I'm sorry for dumping my paints on his head, but I don't want to, Miss Powell! He's mean."

"Neal," she scolded. "Gavin's words were definitely mean, but so were your actions. You should have told me or one of the assistants what was going on."

"But I couldn't," Neal cried. "Then he just would have called me a tattle-tail. And Leah was there!"

Miss Powell knew all about the crush Neal had on Leah, so she understood perfectly what he meant by that. "Sweetie, I know it's not good to be a tattle-tail, but it's also not good to be a bully. The next time you need to control your actions, okay?"

Neal nodded his head sadly. "I'm sorry, Miss Powell. I don't want to be a bully!"

"I know you don't, sweetie. You just need to learn to control your anger a little better, okay? Now, what do you say we head back to the table, so you can make your apology?

Neal nodded again and turned to follow her out of the corner. Just before they were out, he grabbed Miss Powell's hand and stopped her.

"Miss Powell? Gavin said that the Tooth Fairy isn't real. Is he right?"

The young teacher looked down at Neal, not really knowing what to say. She most certainly didn't want to ruin anything for the little boy, and she personally didn't see anything wrong with kids believing in such things. "To be honest, I don't really know, Neal. No one's ever actually seen him, but that doesn't mean anything, right? I've never actually seen Santa Claus, either, but I believe in him, just the same. Sometimes, we have to believe in things without having proof."

"Well, I'm going to get proof, Miss Powell. I'm going to prove that he does exist."

"How are you going to do that?" Miss Powell asked with a smile.

"It'll be easy," Neal answered. "I'm going to do a stakeout with my daddy. And we'll get proof."

"That sounds like fun, Neal, but for now I think it's time to apologize to Gavin."

Neal grumbled something under his breath, but followed his teacher back to his desk. He really wasn't sorry that he dumped his paints over Gavin's head, but he did what was expected of him anyway, thinking the whole time how awful it was to try to be gooder.

* * *

Neal's day improved somewhat once he was home. Miss Powell had sent home a note to his parents, explaining what had happened, but Neal shoved it into a side pocket, hoping to hide it from his parents. The first thing he did when he got home was pull out all of the papers in his backpack for Elizabeth to check. There wasn't nearly as much during the summer playschool times, but Elizabeth still liked to go through everything. Fortunately for Neal, she didn't find the letter from Miss Powell that evening. And Neal had no intention of telling Peter or Elizabeth what he had done and eventually, the subject of the Tooth Fairy was completely forgotten about.

As the summer swept by, Neal made a new friend. Luckily for him, his new friend, Caleb, lived just a few doors down from the Burkes. Neal met him one day at the park, and within an hour they were best friends. Of course, Peter and Elizabeth insisted on getting to know Caleb and his family before allowing Neal to get too close to them, but once they did, Neal and Caleb were inseparable.

They would spend hours playing outside in Caleb's back yard or down at the park. Elizabeth loved hearing the sound of Neal and Caleb giggling out on the patio while they played with Satchmo. Her heart had never felt lighter than it did that summer.

The two boys couldn't have been any different physically. Where Neal was small and slender, Caleb was taller and slightly plump. Neal's curly, dark hair and startling blue eyes were in great contrast to Caleb's straight, reddish-blond hair and green eyes. While Neal's skin turned to a golden brown in the summer sun, Caleb's freckled and reddened.

Both boys were playful and mischievous, but for the most part, Neal seemed to be the ringleader of their little duo. Neal was usually the mastermind behind any of their antics that landed them into trouble, but Caleb definitely had his moments, too. All in all, they balanced each other out nicely.

Peter had settled into what he thought was going to be a relaxing weekend of baseball, beers, and naps, when all hell broke loose. He had been riddled with happiness when Neal had finally forgotten about the Tooth Fairy, but it seemed that his happiness would be short lived. Just as he sat back in his favorite armchair with a beer in one hand and the television remote in the other, the back door flew open, crashing into the wall.

"Daddy!" Neal yelled as he ran into the house, followed closely by Caleb and Satchmo.

Peter jumped out of the chair, losing his grip on his beer in the process. He watched helplessly as the beer upended all over Elizabeth's new rug.

"Neal!" he yelled. "How many times do I have to tell you not to come into the house like that?!"

"But, Daddy," Neal answered. "We need your help!"

Peter immediately thought that something bad had happened. "What's wrong? Are you two okay? Did something happen?"

"Yeah, something happened," Neal said excitedly. "Look at Caleb!"

Peter strode to the other boy, checking him from head to toe for signs of injury. "Caleb? What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"I'm okay, Mr. Burke. I just lost my tooth!"

Peter looked incredulously from Caleb to Neal. "That's what this is about?" he asked. "You come charging in here like someone's after you, scaring me half to death and making me ruin your mom's rug, because Caleb lost his tooth?"

Peter noticed after his tirade that Caleb looked guilty at the thought of what they had done. Neal, on the other hand, remained unashamed and unapologetic.

"Daddy, Caleb lost his tooth!" he repeated even louder.

"I can see that, Neal," Peter answered.

Neal sighed in frustration and then rolled his eyes theatrically. Turning to Caleb, he whispered loudly. "Sometimes I have to explain everything to him. I think he forgets he's a FBI agent, so he forgets to use his brain."

Caleb chose to keep his mouth shut on the matter, much to Peter's relief.

Turning back to Peter, Neal put his hands on his hips and puffed his chest out a little, making Peter wonder, not for the first time, where the kid had gotten so much self-confidence.

"Daddy, Caleb's tooth fell out, so that means that the Tooth Fairy is coming to his house tonight. We don't have a lot of time, so you better get started."

Now it was Peter's turn to sigh in frustration. "I'd better get started doing what, Neal?"

"We need to plan the stakeout, Daddy," Neal said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You need to call the team."

Peter nearly laughed at that, but he realized that Neal was completely serious. "Neal, I already told you that we can't use government resources for something like that. Stakeouts cost money."

"But, it's the only way we're going to get a picture of him, Daddy. And then I can prove it to Gavin that he really does exist."

"I'm sorry, bud. You're going to have to go find something else to do. We're not staking out Caleb's house to catch the Tooth Fairy."

"That's not fair!" Neal cried.

"I'm sorry," Peter repeated. "Now, you two go on and play. The game's about to start and I need to get this mess cleaned up before your mother gets home."

Caleb turned and walked outside, and after a slight hesitation, Neal followed. He would just have to find another way to get things rolling.

* * *

An hour later, Caleb had gone home for dinner and Neal had gone back inside the house. Elizabeth was in the kitchen cooking and Peter was sound asleep in his armchair. Neal made sure that his mother was still in the kitchen and then stepped over to the armchair. Being as quiet as he could, he grabbed Peter's cell phone from the end table and stepped back behind the chair.

Luckily for Neal, Elizabeth and Peter had made sure that he knew how to call or text for help, just in case. Getting into the message app didn't take long, but once he was there, he had a hard time finding the numbers he wanted. Eventually, he found the four he wanted and minutes later, he had sent them all a text.

* * *

Elizabeth woke Peter up from his nap once dinner was ready. He couldn't believe how refreshed he felt after the hour-long nap. Sitting down at the table, he couldn't help but notice that Neal was acting a little antsy. The kid couldn't seem to sit still and he kept constantly looking at the door, as if he was expecting someone.

"Neal, turn around and eat your dinner," Peter finally said after he saw Neal turn to the door for the fourth time. "Are you expecting someone?"

Neal stuffed a piece of garlic bread in his mouth so he wouldn't have to answer. The rest of the meal, he tried to make himself sit still, hoping not to make Peter any more suspicious than he already was. Once dinner was over, Neal sat at the table, eating a piece of chocolate cake with strawberries. He had just shoved a large strawberry in his mouth when the doorbell rang.

"Are _you_ expecting someone?" Elizabeth asked Peter.

"Not me," Peter answered as he headed to the door. Once he opened it, he was surprised to see Jones and Diana standing there.

"Hey, boss," Diana said with a smile.

"Diana, Jones? What are you two doing here?"

"Hughes sent us, Peter," Jones explained. "Wow! Something smells good!"

Elizabeth came out of the kitchen with a dish towel thrown over her shoulder. Neal followed closely, making sure to stay behind his mother.

"Clinton, Diana, are you hungry? There's plenty of leftovers…"

Jones gave her a huge smile. "You'll never see me turn down any of your cooking, Elizabeth. I'd love some."

Jones followed Elizabeth back into the kitchen, leaving Diana, Peter, and Neal in the foyer. "What's going on, Diana?" Peter asked. "Do we have a case?"

Diana looked at Peter oddly. "Boss, Hughes sent us here. He told us to bring the van, that you had a stakeout for us. He didn't go into details. He just said that he trusted your judgement and that we could catch him up on all the specifics on Monday."

Peter still looked completely lost, but things were coming together in his head quicker than Neal actually wanted. "So, Hughes thinks that _I_ have a job for us?"

"That's what he said," Diana answered. "Is he wrong? What's going on, boss?"

Before Peter answered, he turned around and laid angry eyes on Neal, causing the poor boy to scurry closer to Diana.

"I have a pretty good idea of what this is all about," Peter finally said. "Diana, why don't you join Elizabeth and Jones in the kitchen? It seems I have a few things to talk about with my son."

Diana still looked confused, but she quickly walked into the kitchen, leaving Peter alone with Neal. Neal suddenly wished that he hadn't used his dad's phone to get the ball rolling. _Peter was not a happy man!_

"Neal, what did you do?" Peter tried to keep his voice calm, hoping not to scare the boy too much.

It took Neal a few long seconds to answer, but eventually he did. "It's the only way we can get proof, Daddy, and you know it. We have to do it! Please?"

"Neal, I know how desperately you want to do this, but you can't lie to a federal agent to get what you want. Reese will be really angry when he finds out that you lied to him."

"But I didn't lie to him," Neal cried. "I never told him what we were doing, Daddy. I just said that you had a case and that you needed the van and part of your team. That's all I said. And Grandpa didn't ask any questions about it."

"What about Jones and Diana?" Peter asked.

"I told them that you needed their help, that's all."

Peter felt a sudden desire to laugh at the absurdity of the situation he found himself in and he wondered, not for the first time, what it must be like to have a kid that wasn't super intelligent, creative, and just a little manipulative. He thought to himself that it must be pretty boring.

"Okay, kid…..listen up. We'll go through with this, if we can get Jones and Diana onboard with it. If not, then the stakeout will be over before it even gets started."

Neal jumped up and down excitedly. "Thank you, Daddy, thank you!"

"Don't thank me yet, partner. We still have to convince Jones and Diana."

* * *

As it turned out, convincing Jones and Diana wasn't hard at all. Both of them laughed hysterically for several minutes, before finally agreeing to the plan. Neither one of them wanted to miss seeing the Great Peter Burke staking out the Tooth Fairy. Elizabeth made them promise to take pictures.

After talking a few things through, Peter called Caleb's parents to bring them up to speed on what was happening. Neal got on the phone a few minutes later and told Caleb that he needed to go to bed right away.

"The Tooth Fairy won't come until you're asleep, Caleb," he insisted. Caleb promised to go to bed right away.

Once they had the van parked in front of Caleb's house, each of the agents took over their individual jobs. Diana and Jones both planted themselves in front of a screen, passing conspiratorial glances to one another and trying not to burst into laughter. Peter sat in the middle of the two screens, trying not to get annoyed with the whole situation. Neal bounced nervously and excitedly in the small van, effectively driving the three agents crazy. Eventually, Peter had to put a stop to it.

"Neal! That's enough, son. This van is too small for you to be jumping around like that. Come over here and sit down."

"I can't sit down, Daddy. My legs are all bouncy and my brain is fired up."

"It's not an option, kiddo. Come and sit down."

Neal stomped over to where Peter was sitting, obviously not happy with the recent turn of events. As he sat on Peter's lap, he watched Diana and Jones as they watched the computer screens. He suddenly realized that sitting in the van wasn't nearly as fun as he thought it would be. In fact, it was downright boring.

* * *

Elizabeth was sitting on the sofa, leafing through a magazine, when Peter's cellphone rang. She quickly picked it up, thinking that maybe it was Neal or Peter. Instead, she was surprised to find that it was Mozzie.

"Mozzie? Why are you calling Peter's phone? Usually, you just call the house phone or my cell."

"Mrs. Suit? Where's the Suit? I need to talk to him."

"Mozzie, what's wrong? Did something happen?"

"I don't know, Mrs. Suit. You tell me."

"I don't understand, Mozzie. What is it you want me to tell you?"

She could hear Mozzie as he took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. After listening to several more of these, she finally interrupted.

"Mozzie! Can you please tell me what's going on?"

"Fine," Mozzie finally surrendered. "I received a cryptic text from the Suit earlier in the day and I'm not sure what to make of it. I'm pretty sure that it's some sort of code. Is Neal okay?"

"Neal's fine, Mozzie. Really. Now can you tell me what your text said?"

Mozzie hesitated again, but finally started talking. "Like I said, it was very cryptic. All it said was Tooth Fairy Stakeout. I think that might be code for an upcoming alien invasion or government sanctioned nuclear war. We should get out of the city."

Elizabeth laughed at the paranoid little guy. "Actually, Mozzie, it means exactly what it says. They're currently out in the van, waiting for the Tooth Fairy to visit Caleb's house."

When Mozzie didn't say anything, she continued. "It was Neal's idea, Mozzie. He wants proof that the Tooth Fairy really does exist, so he came up with the stakeout idea."

"You shouldn't poison his mind with nonsensical things, Mrs. Suit. Life is too short for nonsense."

"Oh, Mozzie. What does it hurt to let him have a little bit of magic and make-believe in his life? All too soon, he'll know that it's all not true, but right now it's spurring his imagination and bringing him joy."

"It's not good for his mind to be thinking so illogically," Mozzie said.

"He's not thinking illogically, Mozzie. He's thinking creatively. He's using his imagination in ways he never has before. He's being a kid."

Mozzie definitely couldn't argue that or begrudge Neal the fact that he actually got to be a kid. Mozzie's own childhood was full of disappointment and deprivation and low on joy and indulgence. Who was he to deny the kid something that he himself had craved as a child?!

After another long pause, he finally spoke again. "So, the Suit went along with this?"

"It took him a while to get on board with it, but Neal can be pretty convincing."

"There's a part of me that wishes I could be in the van myself, just to see how the Suit is handling it. Of course, the sane part of me would never let that happen."

"Don't worry, Mozzie. I told Jones I would bake him fresh chocolate chip cookies if he would take pictures."

"Nicely played, Mrs. Suit."

* * *

Peter was convinced that he was seconds away from losing his sanity. He hated the van on a normal day. This was definitely not a normal day and he was finding it completely insufferable in the van at the moment.

For some reason, Diana and Jones seemed to be enjoying the evening and that really annoyed Peter. Jones sat back in his chair with his headphones on, watching the screen as diligently as he could. Several times, he sat up in the chair, acting like he had seen something important on the screen. Each time he did that, Neal would squeal loudly in his excitement. Unfortunately, the sound echoed inside the little van and Peter found himself nursing a very bothersome headache.

Diana seemed to be occupying her time by incessantly humming some repetitive tune that had worked its way into Peter's head. He knew that she knew that the humming was driving him crazy, but she just kept on. Eventually, she started tapping her pencil on the table, causing Peter's head to throb with each tap.

Neal, of course, was talking relentlessly, asking Peter question after question about anything he could come up with. _"Why didn't the van have a bathroom? Why did it smell funny in the van? Who drove the van when it wasn't on a stakeout? Why were Peter's nose hairs so long?"_

Peter was just about to call it quits when Jones suddenly sat up in his chair, studying the screen carefully. "Jones, that's really getting old," Peter said, once Neal was done squealing.

"No joke this time, Peter," Jones said in a strange voice. "There's something out there. Take a look."

Peter placed Neal on the ground and stepped over to the screen. Once his eyes adjusted to the blurriness of the screen, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. "What _is_ that?"

Neal scrambled over to the screen, anxious to have a look himself. Seconds later, he squealed right in Peter's ear. "It's him! It's him!"

The three agents watched in complete surprise as something that looked like a fairy walking on two legs made its way down the street. Whatever it was had large wings coming off of its back and looked to be wearing a tutu of some sort. It also had an unnatural glow about it. Peter thought that it almost looked phosphorescent. They watched as the fairy-shaped entity walked closer and closer. Peter thought that there was something familiar about the way the thing walked, but he couldn't figure out what it was. As he was searching his brain for the connection, Neal started yelling at the top of his lungs.

"Agent Jones, take a picture! Take a picture!"

Jones clicked the screen several times, making sure to get the clearest picture he could. He had no idea what was going on, but he just went with it. They all kept their eyes on the screen, so all four of them were completely surprised when the "thing" walked right up to the mounted camera and waved happily to them.

In that moment, Peter knew exactly what it was they were looking at. He was completely surprised that the man would go along with their Tooth Fairy con, knowing how he felt about it, but he had a sneaking suspicion that his wife had something to do with it.

He was trying to figure out how to clue Jones and Diana in on what they were seeing when Neal suddenly ran toward the door. Peter grabbed him by the back of his shirt just in time. "Let me go, Daddy! I want to go talk to him!" Neal pleaded.

"No way, Neal. This operation is reconnaissance only. No one's leaving the van."

"But he's getting away, Daddy!" Neal yelled. "We need to stop him."

"Not our job tonight, little man. In fact, I think our job is finished. We came out here to get pictures of the Tooth Fairy and that's what we got. Mission accomplished."

Neal looked like he was going to argue some more, but Diana stepped in. "Wow, Neal. Your very first stakeout was a definite success. I think you're going to make a great agent one day."

Neal's face lit up at her words. "Do you think I'll be as good as my Daddy, Agent Diana?"

"I think you just might be, Neal." Diana answered with a smile.

"Thanks for helping me, Agent Diana and Agent Jones. I can't wait to take my picture to school and show Gavin. And wait until Mozzie sees them!"

Peter opened the back door and stepped down to the pavement. Turning back to Neal, he was surprised when the boy jumped out at him. Luckily, he still had fairly good reflexes, so he didn't have any problems catching the flying boy.

"I think it's past your bedtime, Neal," Peter said as he looked at his watch.

"But, I'm not tired," Neal argued. Unfortunately, his sentence was punctuated with a huge yawn.

"It's still past your bedtime, kiddo, so say goodbye to your team and let's get you in bed."

Neal turned to look at Diana and Jones who were waiting patiently to leave. "Goodnight, Agent Diana. Goodnight, Agent Jones."

"Goodnight, Neal," they both said in unison.

Just as they turned around to climb back into the van, they heard something that made them laugh. As Peter was walking towards the house with Neal in his arms, they heard Neal's voice. "Daddy? What do you know about the Easter Bunny? Has anyone ever caught _him_?"

Peter's groan echoed in the night.

* * *

Author's note: Whew! This was a long chapter. I truly hope you all enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. And I hope that little Neal in the van was entertaining for you all. That boy is something else, isn't he?

Thanks so much for reading and reviewing. I'm sure this isn't the end of little Neal. I just have to wait for inspiration to hit me again, but I'm sure I'll continue to write more in the Let Your Heart Hold Fast universe. Take care, all.


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